President’s speech on the Occasion of the Seventh Meeting of Women Speakers of Parliament on Gender-Sensitive Parliaments

New Delhi: October 3,2012

I am delighted to join
you in inaugurating the 7th Meeting of the Women Speakers of Parliament
on Gender Sensitive Parliaments. It is particularly opportune that this
7th Meeting is being held in India.

Distinguished Delegates,

1. More than 65 years ago, Indian women stood shoulder to shoulder with
freedom fighters to fight for self-governance and demand that Indians
should participate in making the laws that applied to them. Once we
achieved independence, an important goal was to achieve the empowerment
of women. The principle of gender equality is enshrined in the Indian
Constitution in its Preamble, Fundamental Rights, Fundamental Duties and
Directive Principles. The Constitution not only grants equality to
women, but also empowers the State to adopt measures of positive
discrimination in favour of women.

2. Within the framework of a democratic polity, our laws, development
policies, plans and programmes have aimed at women’s advancement in
different spheres.

3. From the Fifth Five Year Plan (1974-78) onwards there has been a
marked shift in the approach to women’s issues from welfare to
development and in recent years, the empowerment of women has been
recognized as the central issue in determining the status of women.

4. Our law makers realized that as long as the women of India did not
participate in the making of policy and in self-governance, their social
status would not improve. But although attempts were made more than two
decades ago, it was only in 2010 that the Upper House of the Parliament
of India took the historic step of passing a bill to reserve a third of
all legislative seats across the country for women. The bill was passed
by 186 votes to 1. It was a momentous occasion.

5. The 73rd and 74th Amendments (1993) to the Constitution of India have
provided for reservation of seats in the local bodies of Panchayats and
Municipalities for women, laying a strong foundation for their
participation in decision making at the local levels. One-third of the
seats in local bodies are now reserved for women. With this step,
800,000 women were brought into the political process in a single
election. This is very significant as the gram panchayat, is in my view,
the best training ground for future parliamentarians.

6. At present women constitute 11 percent of the 15th Lok Sabha. This is
a vast improvement from only 5 percent in the 1st Lok Sabha. But
although the percentage of Indian women parliamentarians has increased
over the years, it is still lower in comparison to countries like
Sweden, Argentina, the UK and the USA. I am sure that it is a matter of
time before the number will be increased significantly. Of course, we
should remain cognizant of the fact that gender equality and sensitivity
is not guaranteed simply by the presence and number of women in
parliament. It depends on a parliament’s level of recognition of the
importance of gender sensitivity, its responsive policies and
infrastructure.

7. Distinguished delegates, it is obvious that a gender sensitive
parliament will have a greater success in achieving gender equality and
prioritising subjects important to women. They would have a better
understanding of the issues related to water, fuel, food and income and
deal with them with the urgency they deserve. A gender sensitive
parliament can address, more insightfully, the social problems that
women face – which are a blot on society – such as violence against
women, female foeticide, trafficking of women and minor girls, their
abuse and exploitation and the lack of medical and nutritional care of
rural women to name a few. Similarly, it can safeguard more effectively
women’s rights to land, leadership, opportunities and choices.

8. Sustainable economic and social development can best be spearheaded
by well-designed initiatives involving women leaders. With access to and
control over productive resources such as food banks and cooperatives,
and programmes related to health campaigns and nutrition awareness,
women now have the wherewithal to take collective decisions on the way
these should best be implemented in their area or jurisdiction. By
increasing rural women’s leadership and participation in decisions that
shape the laws, policies and programmes that affect them, we can enable
them to take charge of their own futures.

9. Government of India, through its Finance Ministry, has introduced
Gender Budgeting to ensure that in all financial outlays there is a
specific element or component that is meant for the benefit of women in
India. This has been successfully implemented across the sectors and
every line Ministry is required to report on their execution of the
gender budgeting stipulations. This needs to be taken further.

10. Distinguished Delegates, I fully agree that making parliaments more
gender sensitive should be one of the primary preoccupations of
Parliaments across the globe. Poet Laureate Rabindranath Tagore had
said. “Woman is the builder and moulder of a nation`s destiny…… she has
a heart, far stronger and bolder than of man.... She is the supreme
inspiration for man`s onward march ….” The Parliament of India has been
graced by many brilliant women representatives who have enhanced the
quality and content of discussions.

11. I take this opportunity to pay tribute to them and thank them for
their contribution to the shaping of the India of today, and their
legacy. Women have a unique perspective of problems and a great aptitude
for innovative solutions. And that is why I anticipate that this
conference will undoubtedly generate a significant amount of positive
energy and many far reaching initiatives. This will be an occasion to
exchange information and best practices.

12. Distinguished Delegates, I congratulate you on your leadership and
commitment to creating a more gender sensitive parliamentary
environment. I look forward to the outcome of your work in this
conference. I congratulate Smt Meira Kumar, Speaker of the Lok Sabha for
her initiative to host this conference in India. While I may not have
the opportunity to meet each one of you, I wish you great success in
your work over the next two days and assure you of my unstinting
support.

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